In a letter sent to the Iranian Head of State—the Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei—NDP leader Jack Layton expresses his indignation following the imprisonment of Iranian unionist Mansour Osanlou. Mr. Osanlou was arrested a few months ago while preparing a strike to protest against the working conditions of Teheran bus drivers.

The New Democrats thus share the same preoccupations and indignation as the Liberal Party of Canada, which recently raised the issue in the House of Commons.

The Teamsters Union has been taking part in efforts aimed at obtaining the release of the Iranian unionist for the past few months now.

“I personally wrote to Mr. Khamenei in this respect,” points out the president of Teamsters Canada, Robert Bouvier. “Our members are concerned by Mr. Osanlou’s sad fate and we will not give up until we have secured his release.”

Hundreds of thousands of people will take to the streets of cities in 41 countries today, March 6, 2008 , to protest against the treatment of Mansour Osanlou by the Iranian authorities.

Information: Phil Benson (613-292-9786) and Stéphane Lacroix (514-609-5101)

Related documents:

• Letter from Jack Layton >>>
• Letter from the Liberal Party of Canada >>>
• Mario Silva question in the House of Commons >>>